The , sometimes referred to as the '''Lake Shore''', was a major part of the
New York Central Railroad 's
Water Level Route from
Buffalo, New York to
Chicago, Illinois , primarily along the south shore of
Lake Erie and across northern
Indiana . The line is still a major corridor, split at
Cleveland by
CSX and
Norfolk Southern in
1998 , and hosts
Amtrak passenger trains.
;Toledo to Chicago
On
April 22 ,
1833 the was chartered in the
Territory Of Michigan to run from
Toledo on
Lake Erie northwest to
Adrian on the
River Raisin . The
Toledo War soon gave about 1/3 of the route to
Ohio , and it opened in
1837 , using
Horse Power until
August .
The was chartered in
Indiana on
February 6 ,
1835 to run from
Buffalo, New York to the
Mississippi River . The name was changed
February 6 ,
1837 to the '''Northern Indiana Railroad''', which would run from the eastern border of Indiana west to
Michigan City on
Lake Michigan . Some grading between Michigan City and
La Porte was done in
1838 , but money ran out.
map of the Michigan Southern Rail Road with connections]]
Around
1838 the state of
Michigan started to build the , running from
Monroe on
Lake Erie west to
New Buffalo on
Lake Michigan . The first section, from Monroe west to
Petersburg , opened in
1839 . Extensions opened in
1840 to
Adrian and
1843 to
Hillsdale . On
May 9 ,
1846 the partially completed line was sold to the '''Michigan Southern Rail Road''', which changed the planned western terminal to
Chicago using the charter of the Northern Indiana Railroad. The grading that had been done was not used, as the
Grade was too steep, and instead the original Buffalo and Mississippi Railroad charter was used west of
La Porte . The Michigan Southern leased the Erie and Kalamazoo on
August 1 ,
1849 , giving it a branch to
Toledo, Ohio and a connection to planned railroads east from Toledo.
Due to lobbying by the
Michigan Central Railroad , a competitor of the Michigan Southern, the latter's charter prevented it from going within two miles of the Indiana state line east of
Constantine . However the most practical route went closer than two miles west of
White Pigeon . To allow for this,
Judge Stanfield of
South Bend, Indiana bought the
Right-of-way from White Pigeon to the line, and leased it to the railroad company for about 10 years until the charter was modified to allow the company to own it.
In east to
Air Line Junction in
Toledo, Ohio was completed. The company now owned a main line from Chicago to Toledo, with an alternate route through southern Michigan east of Elkhart, and a branch off that alternate to
Monroe, Michigan . Also included was the
Detroit, Monroe And Toledo Railroad , leased
July 1 ,
1856 , and providing a branch from Toledo past Monroe to
Detroit, Michigan .
;Erie to Cleveland
The was chartered
May 21 ,
1844 , and built a railroad from
Erie, Pennsylvania southwest to the
Ohio border. The '''Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad''' was incorporated
February 18 ,
1848 to build northeast from
Cleveland, Ohio to join the Canal Company's railroad at the state line, and the full line from Erie to Cleveland opened
November 20 ,
1852 . The Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula bought the Franklin Canal Company on
June 20 ,
1854 .
;Buffalo to Erie
The was incorporated
October 13 ,
1849 and opened
January 1 ,
1852 from
Dunkirk, New York west to
Pennsylvania . The rest of the line from Dunkirk to
Buffalo opened on
February 22 . The '''Erie and Northeast Railroad''' was chartered
April 12 ,
1842 to build the part from the state line west to
Erie, Pennsylvania , and opened on
January 19 ,
1852 . On
November 16 ,
1853 , an agreement was made between the two railroads, which had been built at 6 foot
Broad Gauge , to relay the rails at
Standard Gauge to match the Franklin Canal Company's railroad (see below) on the other side of Erie, and for the Buffalo and State Line to operate the Erie and Northeast. This would result in through passengers no longer having to change trains at Erie, and on
December 7 ,
1853 , the
Erie Gauge War began between the railroads and the townspeople. On
February 1 ,
1854 the relaying was finished and the first train passed through Erie. On
May 15 ,
1867 the two companies between Buffalo and Erie merged to form the '''Buffalo and Erie Railroad'''.
;Cleveland to Toledo
The was chartered
March 2 ,
1846 to build from
Cleveland west to
Toledo . The '''Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland Railroad''' was chartered
March 7 ,
1850 to build from
Toledo east to
Grafton on the
Cleveland, Columbus And Cincinnati Railroad . The latter company opened on
January 24 ,
1853 , finally forming a continuous Buffalo-Chicago line. On
September 1 the two companies merged to form the '''Cleveland and Toledo Railroad''', the Junction Railroad becoming the Northern Division and the Toledo, Norwalk and Cleveland the Southern Division. The Northern Division opened from Cleveland west to
Sandusky on
October 24 ,
1853 , and the rest of the way to Toledo on
April 24 ,
1855 . The Northern Division was abandoned west of Sandusky due to lack of business, but the track was relaid in
1872 , merging with the Southern Division at
Millbury , east of Toledo. In
1866 the Southern Division east of
Oberlin was abandoned and a new line was built to
Elyria on the Northern Division, ending the use of the
Cleveland, Columbus And Cincinnati Railroad .
;Consolidations
In
October 1867 the Cleveland, Painesville and Ashtabula Railroad leased the Cleveland and Toledo Railroad. The CP&A changed its name to the on
March 31 ,
1868 , and on
February 11 ,
1869 the Lake Shore absorbed the Cleveland and Toledo. On
April 6 the Michigan Southern and Northern Indiana Railroad and Lake Shore merged to form the '''Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway''', which absorbed the Buffalo and Erie Railroad on
June 22 , giving one company the whole route from Buffalo to Chicago. The main route passed through
Dunkirk, New York ,
Erie, Pennsylvania ,
Ashtabula, Ohio ,
Cleveland, Ohio ,
Toledo, Ohio ,
Waterloo, Indiana and
South Bend, Indiana . An alternate route (the Sandusky Division) in Ohio ran north of the main line between
Elyria and
Millbury (not all track was laid until
1872 ). From Toledo to
Elkhart, Indiana , the Old Road ran to the north, through southern
Michigan , and the through route was called the Air Line Division or Northern Indiana Air Line. Along with various branches that had been acquired (see
Below ), the Monroe Branch ran east from
Adrian, Michigan to
Monroe , where it intersected the leased
Detroit, Monroe And Toledo Railroad . At some point the original line to Toledo was abandoned west of the branch to
Jackson (
Palmyra And Jacksonburgh Railroad ), with the new connection at
Lenawee Junction , the crossing between that branch and the line to Monroe.
Around
1877 Cornelius Vanderbilt and his
New York Central And Hudson River Railroad gained a majority of stock of the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway. The line provided an ideal extension of the New York Central main line from Buffalo west to Chicago, along with the route across southern
Ontario (
Canada Southern Railway and
Michigan Central Railroad ). On
December 22 ,
1914 the New York Central and Hudson River Railroad merged with the Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway to form a new
New York Central Railroad .
While the original main line was to the south between
Toledo and
Elyria , the northern alignment (the Sandusky Division) eventually became the main line.
In
1968 the New York Central merged into
Penn Central , and in
1972 it became part of
Conrail . Under Conrail, the Lake Shore main line was part of the
New York City -
Chicago Chicago Line .
In
1998 Conrail was split between
CSX and
Norfolk Southern . The Chicago Line east of
Cleveland, Ohio went to CSX, and was split into several subdivisions - the from
Buffalo, New York to
Erie, Pennsylvania , the '''Erie West Subdivision''' from Erie to east of
Cleveland, Ohio , and the '''Cleveland Terminal Subdivision''' into downtown Cleveland. From the former
Cleveland And Pittsburgh Railroad junction in Cleveland west to
Chicago , the line is now Norfolk Southern's '''Chicago Line'''.
Amtrak 's
New York City -
Chicago Lake Shore Limited runs along the full route from
Buffalo west. The
Capitol Limited joins in
Cleveland on its way from
Washington, DC to Chicago. Passenger trains along the route originally terminated at
LaSalle Street Station , but now run to
Union Station , switching to the parallel former
Pittsburgh, Fort Wayne And Chicago Railway (
Pennsylvania Railroad ) at a crossover in
Whiting, Indiana () to get there.
;Competitors
